I'm an athlete who recently discovered that there is such a thing as Vegan Bodybuilding. I honestly NEVER knew. I had heard of "natural" BB and the such, but I believe it to simply mean no supplements. That being said, I had been debating with myself back and forth the merits of a changed diet. I am not new to nutrition, and so I've read and studied a lot about the various philosophies of proper eating. I've never been a fan of crash diets, and while I do enjoy meats- I know that ethically and environmentally it has an extremely negative impact. Also, as of late I have begun researching meditation, and getting back in to the spirituality that I had as a teenager- which is doing wonders for my outlook.

In any case, I'm just off a two year bender of disgusting convenience foods and socialholism (drinking with friends ), and have been juicing lately and eating non processed foods as a warm up to Vegan eating. The one thing that has held me back from converting is that all too familiar "need meat protein or be a skinny guy" block. I thought about simply using protein powders, but I realized how expensive it is.

Finding this site has put some new wind in my sails, as I can't imagine everyone who's in to Vegan fitness is downing 4 Vegan protein shakes a day.I'm here to learn!Teach me please!Will be posting progress pics!Looking forward to the new lifestyle!

Agreed - I'm not a bodybuilder but I build muscle easily and my protein comes from vegan sources. Legumes and rice makes a complete protein. There so much info here on this forum! Good luck and welcome I'm pretty new here too.

Hey welcome to the forum, and glad you're coming around to veganism. I think one of the key things to remember is that whatever happens, it isn't irreversible. If you try a new diet of any kind, and something isn't working for you, it can be adapted. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Also, listen to beforewisdom, he has a lot of great links to useful information.

I think it's very easy to get protein on a vegan diet. It may surprise you if you start to put it together and actually count up the grams of protein you can get per day. Beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, a few grains... You don't need any protein supplements. But one or two can be convenient, just like for people on a non-vegan diet. You don't need them, but people often take them, vegans are not unique in that aspect.

Welcome to the site! My profile is on the home page of this web site my name is Cheryl. Maybe you can see why I love being a vegan and an athlete. There is a huge misconception about protein and muscles. As you will see on this site it is very much possible and much healthier. there is also the web site no meat athlete. although it is for mostly endurance athlete you will see there are so many of us out there on this diet. http://www.nomeatathlete.com/. It is my passion to keep learning more about how this lifestyle and to help educate others. I hope you will become completely vegan as you will learn a lot from this and other sites.

How about some influence from 2 of the top running backs in the NFL? Vegan running backs Arian Foster from the Texans and Montell Owens from the Jaguars. Oh and gorillas are vegan...have you seen the muscles on a gorilla?